Waikakalaua Tunnels – May 22, 2013

E and I tried this hike in November, but didn’t find the tunnels. We did however; find the trail that led to Paradise Pool, and a trail that led to the jeep road. Today, the goal was to find the tunnels.

Joining E and I were Young Kumu and Daniel, two young-uns. I met them at Mililani Mauka across from the elementary school. E staged his car at the well traveled Higgins Road. At the side street in Mauka we started Waikakalaua. The hike down to the stream was quick, really quick, 10 minutes quick.

From there, we decided not to go to the pools; rather, we chose to cross the stream and head up the ridge to the jeep road. Instead of making a left at the jeep road this time, we made a right towards the tunnels. To our disappointment, the tunnel was blocked off by concrete slabs. Instead of getting frustrated, we decided to head towards the other end of the tunnel. After about 15 minutes, we encountered the second entrance, but were blocked by concrete as well. We headed up the hill towards a ridge to find another access point to the tunnels, but didn’t find any. We were on the ridge now and had a choice. Going right, I assumed it was to head up Waikakalaua Ridge. Going left, we assumed we would head on the jeep road.

After walking for a bit, we hit the jeep road. There were many side trails that could have led us astray, but our calculated decisions were spot on. We ended up on a familiar part of the road that would lead us to the East Range Road a.k.a. Higgins Road.

On our way to Higgins Road, we took a side trail to a water tank, a big one at that. The water tank was short-lived as we exited the trail to E’s truck.

Well, every time we learn a little more. Next time, I think we are going to explore the ridge.